It’s no coincidence that the Braves’ biggest offensive output in more than a month featured a steady dose of opposite field hits.
The Braves scored 15 runs in back-to-back wins Sunday and Monday with repeated swings to send balls the other way. Freddie Freeman set the tone with three hits to left field Sunday in St. Louis, including a home run.
By Monday against the Brewers, Jason Heyward was in on the act, leading off the game with a line drive to left field, the first of his three hits on the night. Freeman and Justin Upton both homered the other way. And the Braves piled up a season-high 15 hits, with nine of them hit either to the opposite field or up the middle.
It’s all a product of taking what the pitcher gives and hitting the ball where it’s pitched.
“You just try to put the ball in play hard somewhere, try not to do too much, try and use the whole field - the middle of the field especially - and you have more margin for error that way,” said Heyward, who also had two hits to center. “I don’t feel like I’ve been using the right part of the field consistently until right now. Just got to keep going.”
A homer-happy team benefitted from the 12 hits Monday night that went for singles, including two to right field from Andrelton Simmons.
“That’s what you want,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “That’s always a good sign when you hit the ball to the opposite way.”
It’s a sign that the Braves are heeding hitting coach Greg Walker’s emphasis on swinging at competitive pitches.
“We have a lineup that can obviously swing the bat with authority, and we’re going to try to do it time and time again,” Heyward said. “I feel like sometimes we get anxious and we swing at the pitches they want us to swing at versus the ones that we can handle. It happens when you want to do a lot. Everyone in this lineup can hit the ball out of the ballpark, or drive the ball into the gap, but we have to take our singles as well sometimes and take our walks.”
